WB Govt To Introduce Home Stay Tourism During Durga Puja

Kolkata: Durga Puja, also called Durgotsava, is an annual Hindu festival in the Indian subcontinent that reveres the goddess Durga. Durga Puja is believed to be the greatest festival of the Bengali People

The Tourism Department of the Bengal Government has decided to promote home stay tourism among foreign tourists based around Durga Puja. Not just Durga Puja, in the coming days, plans are being made to promote celebrations like Rabindra Jayanti and Nazrul Jayanti (their birth anniversaries) in a big way among foreign tourists.

The festival is an old tradition of Hinduism, though it is unclear how and in which century the festival began. Surviving manuscripts from the 14th century provide guidelines for Durga puja, while historical records suggest royalty and wealthy families were sponsoring major Durga Puja public festivities since at least the 16th century.

The state is among the top five in terms of the number of foreign tourists visiting it and this measure to uphold the culture of the state will boost the numbers further.

Everything related to this decision would be finalised within the next two to three months so that foreigners can be start their bookings.

Home stays in Purulia, Birbhum and a few other districts would be tied up with by the department to facilitate this measure. The benefits would be primarily two-fold: one, of course, is that foreign tourists would be able to take part in Durga Puja-related festivities; two, Durga Pujas outside Kolkata would be promoted; and three, the tourists would be able to indulge in nature tourism and photography, as the home stays would be located in picturesque places. As a result of this decision, tourism activities would be promoted across the state, even in far-off places.